Sad Story of Merope
by samadhee
Summary: Basically this is about Merope's feelings towards Tom-how she laced his drink with love potion, becoming pregnant with his child, her emotions after he left her and the emotions she feels after giving birth to son, Tom Marvolo Riddle. The end gives the description of Tom Sr. when he was confronted by his son, sixteen years after Merope died. Please let me know what you think!
Merope

I have never fallen in love with someone before. Every time I see Tom Riddle, my heart starts thumping against the chest wildly and butterflies will rise up in my stomach. He is the most handsome man I have ever seen-with dark hair and an aristocratic look. I always spy him through the window our shack, him, riding on a black colored horse, his dark wavy hair, his handsome aristocratic face. Oh, how long to be in his arms! How I wish I can ride on that horse, with his strong arms around me as we ride through the fields.

But as much as I fantasize about him, not once he has never noticed my presence. He never realizes how much I love him. And of course, I see that girl always holding his hand, always riding with him, laughing. I feel a pang of jealousy whenever I see them together, wishing that it was me who is holding his hand and not her. I heard that she, like him is a daughter of a wealthy squire and that Tom Riddle is going to marry her.

I sit on the chair, looking at the small bottle of love potion, which I have just made. I take pride in myself that I made a love potion, successfully. My father and my brother think I am a Squib—that I can't do any magic. He always remind me that our family—a once wealthy family now turned to rags are the direct descendants of noble Salazar Slytherin—and he often boasts about it. He has kept the most precious Slytherin locket which has been passed down from generation to generation and in which he left behind when he and my brother are safely locked in Azkaban for whole six months.

And while they are safely locked away, I can carry out my planned action. My father, being a pureblood wizard looks down on Muggles. Tom Riddle is a Muggle and the thought of me marrying a Muggle will make him extremely angry, since he strongly believed in pureblood supremacy. But I love Tom Riddle and I want to marry him…

I will do whatever it takes to marry Tom Riddle.

I am in the pub, watching Tom Riddle sitting with his friends. He is always surrounded by his friends or is in the company of that girl. I watch them, laughing and his friends are joking that Riddle is going to get married to Cecilia…the name of that girl. Riddle's face flushed a little at the mention of that girl's name and I felt another pang of jealousy.

Slowly I get up and walk towards the bartender. I pour the love potion into Riddle's glass and carry the tray towards the group. They never bothered to look at me and as I placed the glass in front of Riddle, I look at his handsome face for a brief second before I leave the group. At the corner, I observe him sipping his drink. My heart stopped for a moment, praying that the love potion will work. Slowly, I left the pub, expecting that Riddle will then come back to me and will start falling in love with me.

Tom

I am going to marry Cecilia in a few weeks and my closest friends, John, Henry and Peter all joined for a couple of drinks in the pub.

"So you are only going to be a bachelor for a few weeks," John teased.

"Yeah and then he will be with Cecilia," Peter joked.

I smiled. "Yes…" I replied.

"So how are the wedding arrangements going?" Henry asked.

I simply shrugged.

A woman carrying a tray of our drinks approaches towards our table. She carefully places the glasses in front of us and then disappear.

"Isn't she that tramp's daughter?" Henry asked, noticing her. "She is working here?"

"Oh they are mad people." Peter replied as we take sips from our drinks.

"They are…crazy and weird," I agreed as I take the sip from my drink. "Especially that brother of hers."

"Can't your father do anything about them? Like tell them to leave the town or something?" John asked.

"Wish he could. But their property does not belong to us," I replied.

Suddenly, I feel…weird. I don't know what I happened and then I look at my friends.

"I need to go," I said getting up.

My friends are looking at me. "Where are you going?" Henry asked curiously.

"I am going to meet…Merope." I replied. Why didn't I ever notice her before?

"Merope?" John asked frowning.

"I will talk to you guys later," I replied and left the pub. Suddenly, I feel myself walking towards the shack, where that Gaunt family lived. I am in love with Merope. I can't stop thinking about her. Her innocent face, her unruly dark hair…I am in love with Merope Gaunt…

Merope

My heart skipped a beat when I heard him knocking the door. I know it's him.

"Merope!" I heard Riddle calling my name. I shivered through my spine when he actually said my name. With shaking hands, I open the door and for the first time, he literally looks at me.

I stare at him, his handsome face. Oh how handsome he looks—dark hair and dark eyes with a cold, aristocratic and charming look. I realize that my voice is stuck, unable to make a noise or a sound.

He enters into the house, his eyes are on me.

"Where have you been in my life?" he whispered to me and suddenly he pulls me into his arms. I can feel his heart beating against mine and I gaze into his dark cold eyes. He then cups his hands on my cheeks.

"I love you…" he whispered and suddenly he kisses me…on the lips. I have never been kissed before and I close my eyes as he kisses me, his tongue inside my mouth, his nose touching my nose. I can feel like I am in heaven…that the most handsome man is now kissing me.

He then slowly stops kissing and looks at me. He holds my hand and an electric shock swept past me as he touched me.

"Let's get married…" he whispered.

I smiled. Finally, the love potion worked.

It's been a month since we married and we ran away together to London. And now I am pregnant. I am carrying his child. And I do not want to deceive him anymore, by thinking that he has fallen in love with me. I want him to come out of this lie and deceive. Maybe, he has learned to love me. Maybe he will realize about our child—the product of our relationship and marriage.

And that was the day when I stopped giving him the love potion, thinking that he will love me. But that was also the day I will regret my decision.

He stares at me, unbelievably, when he realized what I had done to him.

"Tom…please…" I plead with him. "Please…sit down,"

He refuses to sit down.

"What did you do to me?" he whispered.

"Tom…" I said and I try to hold his hand but immediately he pulled his hand away from me and distanced himself away from me, looking at me in shock.

"Please…" I pleaded with him again. "Please think about our child…"

"Child?" he repeated. "What child?"

"I am carrying your baby and—"

"I got nothing to do with this!" he yelled. "You witch! You hoodwinked me!"

"Tom—"

"Don't you call me Tom," he warned me, backing away, his eyes flashing with anger "Don't you dare show your ugly face to me! I am leaving!"

I look at him in shock, tears springing out of my eyes as I watch Tom walk out of my life—forever. I can't stop him—I don't have courage to do so.

 _Don't you dare show your ugly face to me_ …his harsh words echoed in my mind, feeling like a knife plunging deep into my chest, tearing my heart into pieces. I leaned on the wall and starts sobbing, touching my swollen belly.

Seven months later

I wandered on the streets of London. I feel lost. I can't ever go back to my house—my father and my brother will never take me in. I even went to the Diagon Alley to that Borgin shop and sold our precious family heirloom—Salazar Slytherin locket which I sold for few galleons. I feel hungry, I feel the baby kicking every now and then and I feel the joy at the feel of the baby kicking me. It feels a joy that part of Tom is living inside me.

And when it was about time, I feel weak. I feel nauseated and I try to look for a place where my baby will be born. I don't want to go back to the Diagon Alley. And it was then I stumble upon a Muggle Orphanage that suddenly, pain erupted into my body.

"Help me," I mumbled in pain as a kind hearted woman led me inside the orphanage. The next few moments seemed like a blur. I can feel myself screaming and kicking in pain while the woman who took me in tried to calm me while the rest of the three women tried to get the baby out. I didn't bother to use magic—I am sick of magic. And what seemed like agonizing hours, I heard the tiny baby's cry.

"It's a boy," one of the woman replied. "Congratulations!"

I feel suddenly that all the energy and life has driven out of me. The woman wrapped my son with a blanket and handed the baby to me.

I stare at the tiny baby in my arms. He tried to nibble on my breast and I cried in joy. But I know that I cannot live to see my son growing up.

"I want you to name him Tom…after his father," I instructed the woman. "Marvolo…after his grandfather and Riddle—Tom Marvolo Riddle…"

The woman looked a little confused but accepted the name choices.

I kiss my son on the forehead. Whether he will grown up as a Muggle or end up becoming a wizard, I know he is going to be a good boy. He will end up becoming a great person with moral values…that's what I want my son to be.

"I hope he looks like his father…" I whispered. Like my Tom. I don't want my son to look like me or my family. I want him to look like Tom and I hope he will.

The woman took my son away from me and I leaned on my bed and closed my eyes suddenly feeling peaceful.

Sixteen years later

Tom

I look at this pale teenage boy, standing in the drawing room. My nightmare has come back haunting me. I have managed to gotten rid of Merope Gaunt from my memory and instead started, reconciled my relationship with Cecilia. Cecilia and I are happy, blessed with two daughters and another child on the way. And this boy…I don't want him to spoil my new founded family.

"Tom…" my mother who was standing next to me stammered. "He looks just like you…"

No…I refuse to acknowledge that he is my son. I stare at him—tall like me, share the dark hair like me…everything about him is similar to me.

And he is here…to ruin my life again…like his mother.

Then the boy raise his wooden stick towards and me yelled something. Something hit me so hard on the chest and I fell with a thud on the floor. Suddenly, I feel peaceful.


End file.
